Love: naked almost in the everlasting street,Skirt lifted by a different kind of breeze.

—from “Unrest in Baton Rouge”

In Wade in the Water, Tracy K. Smith boldly ties America’s contemporary moment both to our nation’s fraught founding history and to a sense of the spirit, the everlasting. These are poems of sliding scale: some capture a flicker of song or memory; some collage an array of documents and voices; and some push past the known world into the haunted, the holy. Smith’s signature voice—inquisitive, lyrical, and wry—turns over what it means to be a citizen, a mother, and an artist in a culture arbitrated by wealth, men, and violence. Here, private utterance becomes part of a larger choral arrangement as the collection widens to include erasures of The Declaration of Independence and the correspondence between slave owners, a found poem comprised of evidence of corporate pollution and accounts of near-death experiences, a sequence of letters written by African Americans enlisted in the Civil War, and the survivors’ reports of recent immigrants and refugees. Wade in the Water is a potent and luminous book by one of America’s essential poets....more

Community Reviews

I mean, she's the poet laureate for a reason. These are beautiful poems. I particularly enjoyed the erasure poems of black civil war soldiers seeking compensation. On a craft level, these poems are impeccable. They didn't have the emotional resonance I often look for in poetry but I know brilliance when I read it and this book is brilliant.

With a reading plan in place to complete a number of fun and rewarding challenges, 2018 looked bright. The year actually got off to a great start and then real life got in the way. This year is being devoted to family celebrations and just being with family so reading is going to be at a premium. I opted out of all of my challenges, and culled my to read pile down to just those books that I am genuinely interested in or are what I called award winning game changers.

One of these game changers isWith a reading plan in place to complete a number of fun and rewarding challenges, 2018 looked bright. The year actually got off to a great start and then real life got in the way. This year is being devoted to family celebrations and just being with family so reading is going to be at a premium. I opted out of all of my challenges, and culled my to read pile down to just those books that I am genuinely interested in or are what I called award winning game changers.

One of these game changers is Wade in the Water: Poems, a new collection by current US Poet Laureate, Tracy K Smith. Last year I read her other three collections as well as her memoir and was mesmerized by her work. Smith is deserving of her role as poet laureate and is one of the leading poets of this generation. If you haven't read any of her prior work, I encourage everyone to read one or all of her poetry collections. Smith's work is that good.

Analyzing her work will not do justice to it but I will say that after not reading for over a month these thought provoking poems were a compromise to ease back into reading. She included a touching ode to her daughter written in a simple rhyming schematic and contrasted it with pieces about the current state of immigration and ethnic profiling. The most prolific work was that detailing African American soldiers during the Civil War and their ongoing postwar battle to obtain the same rights and pensions as their Caucasian contemporaries. Smith bends the line between poetry, story telling, and prose, and makes even the most basic of her poems a joy to read.

For the rest of 2018, I will be happy if I read ten specially earmarked books that I have been either looking forward to for a long time or are pure comfort reads. This year I will come to appreciate my reading as it is a luxury and if all of my reads are as gratifying as Wade in the Water: Poems, I will walk away from my reading sessions satisfied.

These poems are reflect how minorities in America have grappled with racism. Each piece pulls at your senses and challenges you to think more deeply about the world around you. The history of how black people survived slavery and reconstruction is often overlooked. In the poem "Unwritten" the use of real correspondence of African Americans while fighting in the Civil War and surviving after, let's us glimpse into the deep cavern of history that has not bFind this and other Reviews at In Tori Lex

These poems are reflect how minorities in America have grappled with racism. Each piece pulls at your senses and challenges you to think more deeply about the world around you. The history of how black people survived slavery and reconstruction is often overlooked. In the poem "Unwritten" the use of real correspondence of African Americans while fighting in the Civil War and surviving after, let's us glimpse into the deep cavern of history that has not been written about or retold. The author uses precise language to cut through our defenses and makes us think of where I our sympathies lie.

"Can you imagine what will sound from us, what we'll rend and claimWhen we find ourselves alone with all we've ever sought: our name?"

In "Theatrical Improvisation" the author uses excepts from Muslim women who were assaulted after the 2016 election and excerpts from a Nazi calling for a bloody civil war. In the poem the reader is granted a window into how people are acting out their hate to the detriment of everyone else. In this collection the poet laureate highlights her talent and uses her observations to create memorable and lasting art. Every poem packed a punch and some left me emotionally reeling.

Recommended for readers who-want to think deeply about race relations-enjoy poetry about African American history-read contemporary poetry inspired by current events

I received this book from Graywolf Press in exchange for an honest review. ...more

Wade in the Water: Poems was my third collection by Smith, the current Poet Laureate of the United States. While I liked her earlier works of Duende and Life on Mars, this new collection is my favorite of her work.

Wade in the Water: Poems was my third collection by Smith, the current Poet Laureate of the United States. While I liked her earlier works of Duende and Life on Mars, this new collection is my favorite of her work.

Smith uses multiple poetic and dramatic styles - erasure poems gathered from slave correspondence in the Civil War (the whole stunning 'Unwritten' series), source materials of the Declaration of Independence ('Declaration'), and legal documents of environmental law ('Watershed') to cultivate this sense of America past and present.

I've already reread some of the poems several times... It's a stunning collection that left quite an impact on me. Highly recommended....more

It's tough when the bottom of the book's cover reads "By the Poet Laureate of the United States" (not that I wouldn't minds such baggage). Tough to live up to the expectations. And Tracy K. Smith doesn't. Not if you're looking for stop-you-in-your-tracks poems that make you want to reread just to hear the pleasant little jingle again. I've read poetry like that, and no, not a lot of that here.

The best part is Smith's erasure poetry. There's a brilliant section that must've taken a lot of work. SIt's tough when the bottom of the book's cover reads "By the Poet Laureate of the United States" (not that I wouldn't minds such baggage). Tough to live up to the expectations. And Tracy K. Smith doesn't. Not if you're looking for stop-you-in-your-tracks poems that make you want to reread just to hear the pleasant little jingle again. I've read poetry like that, and no, not a lot of that here.

The best part is Smith's erasure poetry. There's a brilliant section that must've taken a lot of work. Smith researched letters of black soldiers during the Civil War, some of them to Mr. Abraham Lincoln, even, and crafted some works that just leap with life. Ah, the voices here! These poor guys come back to life in their misery.

Another erasure poem that worked was Smith's selective erasure of The Declaration of Independence by one slave owner by the name of Thomas Jefferson. Point taken! You can read it here by scrolling down....more

Loved this collection of poems, especially those of the second section. The erasure poem, Declaration, is immense, as is 'I Will Tell You The Truth About This, I Will Tell You All About It,' in which Smith uses sources from letters written by former slaves + veterans of the US Army.

Tracy K. Smith is the United States Poet Laureate. Wade in the Water is a collection of powerful poems about race, both historically, in our history of slavery specifically during the Civil War (and not only slavery but the mistreatment of the black Union soldiers) along with current examples of violence and hatred toward that which is "othered" in this country (as in African-American, Latinx, and Muslims).

Smith writes in a fascinating variety of styles, from lyrical poems to ghazels to erasureTracy K. Smith is the United States Poet Laureate. Wade in the Water is a collection of powerful poems about race, both historically, in our history of slavery specifically during the Civil War (and not only slavery but the mistreatment of the black Union soldiers) along with current examples of violence and hatred toward that which is "othered" in this country (as in African-American, Latinx, and Muslims).

Smith writes in a fascinating variety of styles, from lyrical poems to ghazels to erasure poems. The erasure or "found" poems were especially appealing to me. Smith works from a group of documents, many letters written during the Civil War by both former slaves and also slave owners. She also uses the Declaration of Independence, turning it on its head to create a witness to the violence of slavery. This technique allows many voices to be heard for themselves while shaped by the artist's craft.

I've read the collection twice so far and am ready for a third reading. Smith's work is compelling and beautiful. As well as disruptive. It forces you to grapple with issues you might think you already understood and were done with. She teaches you otherwise.

I'm relatively new to reading contemporary poetry, and am still learning what works for me personally, and what doesn't. I spent a long time reading and re-reading the poems from this collection, hoping it would eventually click, but something about it felt removed, closed off, and I can't say it resonated with me much overall. There are a lot of different and interesting themes and topics, but I couldn't help feeling I'd prefer to read them in a different form. The few poems that I liked more wI'm relatively new to reading contemporary poetry, and am still learning what works for me personally, and what doesn't. I spent a long time reading and re-reading the poems from this collection, hoping it would eventually click, but something about it felt removed, closed off, and I can't say it resonated with me much overall. There are a lot of different and interesting themes and topics, but I couldn't help feeling I'd prefer to read them in a different form. The few poems that I liked more were 'Deadly' (on Creation and destruction), 'Ash' (a personified haunted house), and the few domestic poems towards the end, such as '4½' (about being woken by your child in the early morning) and 'The Everlasting Self' (about a dog shaking water from itself). The historical poems, mainly on the aftermath of the American civil war, make up the bulk of the collection, and although I was interested in the topic itself, the poems themselves seemed to smother the subject. I wanted those stories to be told in another way. All in all, Smith's style was clearly not a good fit for me, but I'm glad I took the chance to try something new....more

On the whole I think now that Smith's style of poetry (lots of couplets?) doesn't do much for me. The found poems, which really seem to tell a story (like "Watershed" and "I Will Tell You the Truth About This, I Will Tell You All About It"), worked best for me and in particular I really enjoyed "Watershed". I recognized it from the article it's based on, "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare" (which was a fascinating read).

Highlights are the erasure poems of the Declaration of Independence (--taken Captive/ on the high Seas/ to bear --)and Dupont dumping poison into drinking water, KNOWINGLY (with near death descriptions)and African Americans enlisted in the Civil War, seeking pension (Yours for Christs sake --)

I was fortunate to be at Smith's inauguration as Poet Laureate, and see several of these poems performed in person. The crowd reaction to a white officer giving a black officer a false name so that the whiHighlights are the erasure poems of the Declaration of Independence (--taken Captive/ on the high Seas/ to bear --)and Dupont dumping poison into drinking water, KNOWINGLY (with near death descriptions)and African Americans enlisted in the Civil War, seeking pension (Yours for Christs sake --)

I was fortunate to be at Smith's inauguration as Poet Laureate, and see several of these poems performed in person. The crowd reaction to a white officer giving a black officer a false name so that the white man could claim two pensions was a life highlight. The poems are razor-sharp, almost clinically precise.

Also, time to compile a list of Dupont products and avoid them with every fiber of my being. ...more

Another great collection from Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. In Wade in the Water, she gets more experimental than what I saw from her in Life on Mars. Section II features some compelling erasure poems, including "Declaration," which strategically erases verbiage from the Declaration of Independence to say something new about oppression in America. "I Will Tell You the Truth about This, I Will Tell You All about It" does the same thing with letters from former slaves seeking family, seeking justiAnother great collection from Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. In Wade in the Water, she gets more experimental than what I saw from her in Life on Mars. Section II features some compelling erasure poems, including "Declaration," which strategically erases verbiage from the Declaration of Independence to say something new about oppression in America. "I Will Tell You the Truth about This, I Will Tell You All about It" does the same thing with letters from former slaves seeking family, seeking justice, and black Civil War soldiers seeking their service pensions. Very powerful. At the same time, Wade in the Water still offers up many of the sharp, elegant lyric poems that first made me fall in love with Smith's poetry. A few of my favorites include "Deadly" and "Ghazal," which is an ekphrastic poem, written to a series of large-scale drawings by artist Kara Walker. I especially loved "Ash" for all its sound play and what it gradually reveals about the "house" it keeps talking about.

Tracy K. Smith is a great poet for readers who love poetry, and she'd be a great one to introduce to anyone who thinks they don't like poetry. She manages to be accessible while still knocking your socks off with the highly original things she's doing with language and ideas. I plan to read everything she's ever written, or ever will write....more

Don't be discouraged to start a book...even after reading the 2-star reviews.

Comments after my first reading of all the poems in the train:

I read all the poems…could not find any emotional ‘feeling’ with this collection. I was so disappointed and was about to give this book a 2 score. Then I told myself…go to bed…sleep on it. Poet Laureate USA, graduate of Harvard, …studied with the eminent Helen Vendler (seeFinished: 19.05.2019Genre: poetryRating: A+++#TS Eliot Prize Finalist 2018Conclusion:

Don't be discouraged to start a book...even after reading the 2-star reviews.

Comments after my first reading of all the poems in the train:

I read all the poems…could not find any emotional ‘feeling’ with this collection. I was so disappointed and was about to give this book a 2 score. Then I told myself…go to bed…sleep on it. Poet Laureate USA, graduate of Harvard, …studied with the eminent Helen Vendler (see Google) and professor at Princeton University …Smith MUST be doing something right.I’m just to blind to see it! I start a re-read of each poem today!#GiveBookAChance

Tracy K. Smith's poems are beginning too make my soul feel inadequate. These poems are poetry, what poetry should be. It's feeling and beauty and truth all congealed into one beautiful collection. As always the woman reminds the reader what feeling is, and how words can create them in the first place.

Another great poetry collection from Tracy K Smith. Some of these poems are quite nostalgic and beautiful. Others deal with the history of racism in the US. Finally, some are simple observations about her children. I loved this whole collection.

Wade in the Water:Poems reminded me the most of Lincoln in the Bardo in that it aimed for elegy and verse with history (even including first person testimonials that may or may not be real) and storytelling however unlike Bardo, it succeeded mightily. Interesting and diverse sections that span the American, the outcast, the mother, the underprivileged and the slave experience (sometimes all at once).

Narrated by the author which mostly worked except that the speed and pauses felt slow even at 1.Wade in the Water:Poems reminded me the most of Lincoln in the Bardo in that it aimed for elegy and verse with history (even including first person testimonials that may or may not be real) and storytelling however unlike Bardo, it succeeded mightily. Interesting and diverse sections that span the American, the outcast, the mother, the underprivileged and the slave experience (sometimes all at once).

Narrated by the author which mostly worked except that the speed and pauses felt slow even at 1.5x. I've tried listening to poetry before and this particularly worked for me due to the narrative, connective style rather than short, isolated poems.

when seeing a woman struggling with a heavy load (without the proper measures since this was audio)

"I am you, one day out of five. Tired, empty. Hating what I carry, but afraid to lay it down. Stingy. Angry. Doing violence to others by the sheer freight of my gloom. Halfway home, wanting to stop. To quit. But keeping going, mostly out of spite.

The "erasure" poems are the stars in this new collection by poet laureate Tracy K. Smith. In one, "Declaration," Smith has whittled down the Declaration of Independence to seventeen short lines. When read through the lens of the African American slave and Jim Crow realities, the poem is an implicit, but all the more powerful for being so, indictment of the failure of white Americans to live by our own foundational principles.

In another derivative poem, "I Will Tell You the Truth about This, I WiThe "erasure" poems are the stars in this new collection by poet laureate Tracy K. Smith. In one, "Declaration," Smith has whittled down the Declaration of Independence to seventeen short lines. When read through the lens of the African American slave and Jim Crow realities, the poem is an implicit, but all the more powerful for being so, indictment of the failure of white Americans to live by our own foundational principles.

In another derivative poem, "I Will Tell You the Truth about This, I Will Tell You All about It," the author relies on letters from African Americans, some addressed to President Lincoln himself, concerning a host of difficulties, each giving a picture of the many hardships they faced in just trying to survive. One particularly striking and sad case in point, some letters were from the first decade of the 20th century, but still appealing to receive pensions due from service in the Civil War. Much of the delay was caused by the careless and scrambled way black soldiers' names were recorded when they enlisted or the deliberate falsification of records.

For me the remaining poems were mixed. Some seemed so tied to Smith's family experiences that they were hard to connect with on a more universal basis. Others, however, dealing with contemporary civil unrest or environment degradation, were imminently relatable and chilling. Actual rating: 3.5. ...more

America is a country of ghosts, haunted by a past that is willfully ignored due to selective cultural amnesia and the cavalier attitude that the only history is that ordained by those in power. That amnesia is a deadly lens through which to view the past as it distorts the present. Especially deadly for black Americans and refugees landing here in the midst of our rising nationalism. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith gives voice to those ghost and wraiths that wander America, conjuring their voices iAmerica is a country of ghosts, haunted by a past that is willfully ignored due to selective cultural amnesia and the cavalier attitude that the only history is that ordained by those in power. That amnesia is a deadly lens through which to view the past as it distorts the present. Especially deadly for black Americans and refugees landing here in the midst of our rising nationalism. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith gives voice to those ghost and wraiths that wander America, conjuring their voices into a pleading song. An excellent collection....more

What an incredible, gorgeous book of interesting and varied poems. Smith includes a section of erasure poems (the Declaration of Independence, letters between a slave-owning couple) as well as poems made up of letters from African-Americans conscripted into the civil war. She carries an echo of these poems forward in her gorgeous "Unrest in Baton Rouge" which I could read every day for the rest of my life. Go buy it.

I truly enjoyed this collection. Smith's poetry is always radically empathic - it reaches out to understand, to see, to make space for the humanity in all of us while never shying away from difficult truths. It is as if her work takes E.M. Forster's "Only Connect," as dictum.

In this collection the frame and context is wide. The poems' subjects are personal, historical, and political.

I found many of the poems moving, but the 2nd section of historical poems reckoning with the United State's histI truly enjoyed this collection. Smith's poetry is always radically empathic - it reaches out to understand, to see, to make space for the humanity in all of us while never shying away from difficult truths. It is as if her work takes E.M. Forster's "Only Connect," as dictum.

In this collection the frame and context is wide. The poems' subjects are personal, historical, and political.

I found many of the poems moving, but the 2nd section of historical poems reckoning with the United State's history of racial injustice transfixed me most. "I Will Tell You the truth about This, I Will Tell You All about It," an erasure poem comprised of letters and statements of African American soldiers in the Civil War and their families, was haunting.

Also moving were the series of poems reflecting back our current moment where xenophobia and racism seem embedded and on the rise - "Theatrical Improvisation," "Refuge," & "The United States Welcomes You." Smith insists on displaying and centering the humanity of refugees and immigrants, lending her voice to theirs while also centering their stories in the narrative.

I would feel remiss if I did not note that Smith's craft is brilliant. Between poems she switches voices, persons, & tones seamlessly. Smith moves masterfully between the public and the private. Her ability to put simply complex emotions and ideas is remarkable....more

My dad heard I was having a rough time here in the city, so to cheer me up he sent me a book of poetry he had seen and thought I might like. I was already predisposed to love this book no matter what because it was just such a goddamn sweet gesture. But even if he had not given it to me, I would have adored Wade in the Water.

Though it is only 75 pages, Tracy K. Smith’s Wade in the Water packs a punch. And it should. She is the Poet Laureate of the United States. Her poetry is raw, honest, and deMy dad heard I was having a rough time here in the city, so to cheer me up he sent me a book of poetry he had seen and thought I might like. I was already predisposed to love this book no matter what because it was just such a goddamn sweet gesture. But even if he had not given it to me, I would have adored Wade in the Water.

Though it is only 75 pages, Tracy K. Smith’s Wade in the Water packs a punch. And it should. She is the Poet Laureate of the United States. Her poetry is raw, honest, and deeply unique. She often shifts between perspectives, on one page speaking in the voice of a Civil War soldier, on the next describing the personal joys and trials of motherhood. The common thread through her poetry is her lyric rhythmic voice and unique style.

Though it occasionally went a little over my head, I do not think this was the fault of the author. Rather, I think I just lack the brain power or perspective to fully comprehend what she was talking about. Still, this was a gorgeous book of poetry and a timely read. ...more

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TRACY K. SMITH is the author of two previous collections: Duende, winner of the James Laughlin Award and the Essence Literary Award, and The Bodys Question, winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize. She is also the recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Award and a Whiting Writers Award, and was a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work. Smith is currently a protg inTRACY K. SMITH is the author of two previous collections: Duende, winner of the James Laughlin Award and the Essence Literary Award, and The Bodys Question, winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize. She is also the recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Award and a Whiting Writers Award, and was a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work. Smith is currently a protg in the Rolex Mentor and Protg Arts Initiative, and a member of the Creative Writing Faculty at Princeton University. She lives in Brooklyn, New York..

Now the Library of Congress has named Ms. Smith its new poet laureate, the nation’s highest honor in that field.